The brand new update once again looks to improve stability and fix a few more bugs, including a memory leak that would cause game crashes after level shutdowns.

Interestingly, the patch also pushes a few balancing tweaks to the stealth and attack jets. Stealth jets now handle more similar to each other and also benefit from a 45% increase in 20mm cannon damage. Attack jets have also been tweaked to handle more similar to each other.

For the full list of updates, feel free to check out the full patch notes below. Stay tuned for more news regarding upcoming Battlefield 4 patches on the Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

UPDATE 1: In addition to the game update, you’ll also find patch notes for a recent PC server update below.

“Fixed a player feedback timing issue where blood was appearing before other damage indicators, and before damage was actually done” Is this the fix for the “netcode”, or they just decided to delay blood splatter too? Im just back from work, so i’m a bit tired, but shouldn’t it be something like “Fixed a player feedback timing issue, where damage indicators didn’t appear, when damage was actually done”?
If the game knows, that I’m about to get shot, It should notify me as soon as its possible (maybe next frame, not 2 seconds later, when i’m already dead)

Katana67

Difficult to say. The first one could’ve been related to hitbox lag/hit detection, which has been present since BFBC2. Or, it could just be cosmetic. Either way, seems like an improvement.

Overall, the patch sounds great. One more step towards making BF4 an acceptable experience. Most of these problems (sans PC-specific ones like driver issues and Windows 8 issues) are present on PS4, so I hope there aren’t too many changes when it gets rolled out.

“Fix for friendly marker not always showing when needed to, resulting in players shooting team members”

This is a big one, as a person who plays Hardcore exclusively, the friendly-tag LOS was horrendous. Couple that with a lack of teamkill notification, it was really a bad thing.

But again, I’m confronted with the same question. Why is teamkilling still a thing in video games? What does it add to the experience? People always say “It prevents ‘spray and pray'”. No, it doesn’t, people still do all of that and more. If anything, it’s worse with teamkilling enabled. Coupled with griefing, why is teamkilling still a thing in video games? It does not add anything to the experience.

VEX_VEHIX

HC is just that, Hard Core. Watching your friendly fire adds to the intensity. Just saying.

Katana67

But “hardcore” is just a name, it’s not in and of itself a descriptor of what is entailed in the game mode (i.e. things like lower individual health, minimal HUD, etc.)

I’m not convinced it does add to the intensity though. It adds to the irritability of people, that’s for sure.

I’m irritated when I expend 15 rounds to accidentally kill a teammate whose friendly tag lagged for five seconds even though they’re right in front of me.

I’m pissed when I have to reload and I LOSE the other 15 rounds in my mag for no reason

I’m pissed again when that teammate takes offense to being teamkilled only to return to teamkill me in revenge.

And finally I’m puzzled beyond belief when I get a DEATH for getting teamkilled of all things.

I fail to see what teamkill adds to the game. Even if it does, what it takes away is far more significant than what it adds.

Oblivion_Lost667

TKing adds the necessity to be careful, and makes the spam of grenades/launchers into territory more risky and lowers the amount that it should happen, because you can easily kill team mates, it means no more rushing through a hallway after your friend just threw a couple of grenades, meaning not only is the enemy dealing with grenades/running from him, but he’s getting shot while a man is within an explosion, it makes no sense. I liked that, if I recall correctly, GR:FS’s nearly only FF was from things like grenades/ (I could be wrong, it was a while back.)

I like the reloading mechanic they’ve implemented as a whole, but I think the execution is bad, they should be doing what ArmA/Red Orchestra does and have the mags be individually calculated, if you shot 15 rounds out of a mag, that mag doesn’t magically refill when you swap mags, but it doesn’t just disappear into nothing either.

Katana67

Right, but that’s a completely different mechanic than what’s implemented in BF4. I agree though, that system is preferable so that one could cycle back to a half-full mag, rather than having those rounds lost forever. But until that is implemented, I’d rather have my ammo NOT disappear for no good reason. The disappearing magazines idea is every bit as ludicrous as a “pool of ammo”.

Overall ammo conservation itself provides incentive to be careful, not to mention the whole “not getting shot/spotted” deal. Teamkilling provides a very minimal amount of caution (which is only endorsed by being PUNISHED for teamkilling, in a reverse sense), whilst providing a maximum amount of capability for griefing. It’s ultimately not worth it, and is a net loss for a game in my opinion.

And I’m still not sure what justifies the VICTIM of a malicious teamkill getting a DEATH, through no fault of his/her own.

xHDx

‘Increased damage by 25% for the Stealth Jet 20mm cannons.’

Stealth jets now handle more similar to each other and also benefit from a 45% increase in 20mm cannon damage

Which one is it lol?

http://mp1st.com/ David Veselka

25%

xHDx

Thanks
Can’t wait for next X1 update so they can reduce the server stuttering and lag.

Tank Buster

I have not experienced any lag our stuttering on my Xbone.

thinh

David you know when DICE are gonna release the rent dedicated servers for bf4 (ps3)?

Jerry Kehr

I believe it was sometime in March when they started renting servers for bf3. So I’m guessing it will be the same for bf4. Unless they hold off until the game is running better.

I think “badmins” can be mitigated, through a rating system or a more responsive reporting system. I’d rather have variety in servers than be subject to DICE’s restrictive game mode philosophy, which was horrendous on BF3 console conquest.

I seldom encountered badmins on BF3 360, although I certainly did encounter them. I think they just wield too much power in terms of perma-bans. But, I’d rather have large ticket games with the possibility for tweaked game modes than have nothing. Especially when the drawbacks of private servers can be mitigated.

http://www.facebook.com/datkidfromawendaw Clay Johnson

They need to bring servers back in console bf4. So Joker’s Madhouse can start back up. It’ll suck that the team cantbchat, but at least you knowknow more people will be talking. Hardly anyone speaks online despite having both a mic and Kinect.

DerpSlayer

No, “badmins” cannot be mitigated, ‘least not on the consoles because there are too many kids and teenagers they proved during BF3 they could not handle running a server – complaints about abuse were widespread.

No rental servers for console kids in BF4 is the result.

sircolby45

I agree…badmins can not be mitigated without taking away all of their powers. (Which is the whole reason they buy them in the first place.) Also I play on both PC and console and the badmins are there in both. The worst part is PC has scripts that they can run to auto kick/ban for certain actions, so it is actually worse. For example there are several PC servers that will kick you without warning for saying any curse word. (Even though the game characters curse like a sailor themselves.) Player run servers are a joke. They drastically alter the gameplay experience for the worse.

http://mp1st.com/ David Veselka

I wish I knew exactly. I was actually thinking about it last night. Trying to unlock some weapon Battlepacks, so it would be nice to be able to choose a higher-ticket server on a good TDM/DOM map.

SamRock

“Fix for friendly marker not always showing when needed to, resulting in players shooting team members”

Thank You Lord! No more team kills and punishments on Hardcore.

Now all we need is to disable damage from Mines and Claymore to team members on HC

Katana67

Mines, Claymores, SLAMs, I have no idea why they thought this was a good idea if it’s intended.

I also wouldn’t mind if hitmarkers were included but I’m used to being without them by now. That and we’ll probably see a bit more variation once private severs are rolled out.

SamRock

Agree on the missing Hitmarker on HC. Most of the time I stop shooting thinking I am wasting bullets as there is no way of telling if I hit the guy or not. And thanks to the netcode issue lingering in the head.. I always think that my bullets are not doing any damage.

Tank Buster

That’s how it was back in the day for example with Desert Combat some other Battlefield titles, friendly mines could be hit by friendly’s. Its hardcore for a reason some of us like the realistic game play. But I understand how that could be frustrating.

SamRock

I really dont mind the mines/Claymore killing me. What I hate it my idiotic team member PUNISHing me because he ran over my “strategically” placed explosive meant for the enemy 😀

I am now so scared of using them.

And it happens all the time!

http://www.facebook.com/datkidfromawendaw Clay Johnson

I used to hate teamkill via anti vehicle/personnel explosives but I’ve gotten better at avoiding. However the dumb thing about that is claymores and mine a always have icons on them. I would be in the gunner seat of tanks and always have to bail out BC they’ll hit a SLAM or something. Claymores can also wreck IFVs I believe but luckily people place then indoors if at all on mostly outdoor maps.

That no hit marker and no teamkill notification came from MoH Warfighter. The hardcore in that mode had absolutely no HUD whatsoever, not even a kill feed.

Tank Buster

Nothing is worse than “revenge” TK for something you described, those types of players should not be on the hardcore servers imo.

Katana67

See, I don’t share that sentiment. Hardcore is just a different set of parameters, it’s no more “realistic” than Core. It’s just a less forgiving set of gameplay parameters. The second you deem it as “realistic” or even “more realistic than Core”, you’re immediately confronted with a plethora of ways in which it is not realistic.

Similarly, using “realism” as a lone qualifier can detract from gameplay. The mines exploding for friendlies is a perfect example of this. If they kill friendlies, you’re essentially denying access to an area to your team when you throw up some mines or a claymore. You should be securing areas FOR YOUR TEAM, not only securing areas for yourself. Likewise, when I throw a claymore up, I don’t want it to kill my team,I want it to kill the enemy. It’s useless if it doesn’t discriminate between friend and foe. It’s also misleading when you see a blue indicator for a friendly mine or a red indicator for an enemy mine, when they kill you just the same.

I like “realism” and unforgiving mechanics just as much as the next guy, hence why I play Hardcore (and games like ARMA). But it does get in the way of gameplay sometimes, this is a prime example of that.

Tank Buster

I just think anything we can do to move further away from the COD style of arcade play is a good thing. If we need to think twice before we place mines and claymores then that’s a good thing, we should be getting “immersed” into the team based game. You can always use them strategically in an ambush setting, or pick them back up if your concerned about friendlies and a save the explosives for later. Granted very few people play this way so yes there are definitely consequences for leaving explosives all over the place but I would rather see some thought & strategy then mindless amounts of claymores and mines all over the map like you see in non hardcore servers.

Even look at the hit markers for your friendlies, not sure what its called exactly but it takes 1-2 seconds for their blue name to show up if their on your team. At first I hated it but found out I was just simply shooting at anything that moved and getting team kills. But then thinking and playing some more it makes me be more aware of your teams location and add’s some realism to the game before you decide to just unload 30 rounds cause something moved in front of you, take 1 second and ID your contact then fire or don’t. Not sure if this was done intentionally by DICE but again it slows the pace down from arcade style of shooters and adds a bit more tactical play which I’m in favor of.

Katana67

The thing is, there are things I like about CoD. Things like actually dropping people quickly, not having to dump mags of ammo into people. I like a snappy shooting mechanic, not a box of unintelligible mush and unresponsiveness that BF’s shooting mechanic has always had. They’ve certainly improved it, but it’s nowhere near where it needs to be, hence why we’re seeing overwhelming complaints of netcode problems.

I use these terms too sometimes, so it’s not necessarily an indictment of you personally, but things like “arcade” and “arcadey” don’t mean anything. I’ve yet to hear a coherent definition that applies in one situation and not in another.

Thinking twice about placing claymores and explosives should be due to having to place them in strategic areas to best protect an area. Not killing your team mates shouldn’t factor in at all, otherwise there’s absolutely no point to claymores or mines if they can deny access to an area for your team the same as the enemy.

They limit the “mindless amounts of claymores and mines all over the map” by having per-player explosive limits.

The hit markers are fine, but the friendly indicators are a flaw. Period. You have to exploit every second of surprise on the enemy, so shooting quickly and accurately is a must. So having to wait for a friendly tag to pop in completely messes with any potential jump you would’ve had on an enemy if you’re wasting time waiting to ID your target indefinitely. Likewise, you can’t implement teamkill punishes and have a loose friendly ID system. It’s hypocritical in the purest sense.

Slowing the pace down is fine, but not ubiquitously. It shouldn’t be counter-intuitive and it shouldn’t be cumbersome. The things like delayed friendly tags (which is a bug, fixed in the patch notes above) and friendly mines killing friendlies detract from gameplay. “Tactical gameplay” existed in BF3 where these things were not included. In fact I’d submit that these things DETRACT from “tactical gameplay” in that they just add to the never-ending clusterfuck of uncertainty and obstacles to actually engaging the enemy.

Thought is already a component of the game, it shouldn’t be compounded by unnecessary delays. That said, things like vehicle entry/exit animations make sense to me. From both a “realism” and gameplay perspective. It adds to the realism factor, and also removes the ludicrous teleporting that results in three-stooging in and out of vehicles when the enemy is at close range.

But reaction shooting is present in all shooters, it’s always to your advantage to fire first. It’s just to what degree it dictates the outcome. In CoD, sure, I’d submit it plays a bigger role as the damage model is less forgiving. In BF, it’s still to one’s advantage to get the jump on someone and it still determines the majority of engagements. Getting the jump on someone and firing first is gaining the advantage on them.

If someone’s getting shot, they should have a marginal opportunity to fire back, but they should recognize that they made a mistake by allowing the enemy to engage them first. If there are no mitigating factors (heals, cover, missed shots, etc.) the person who fires first whilst being accurate should win, period. They’re exploiting their own sensory advantage over another player, which is just a long-winded way of saying “skill” (which is also a very nebulous term).

I recognize that this isn’t what you’re asserting, but one shouldn’t be penalized (and thus put on an even playing field) just for firing first. Which is why things like “random spread” never made any sense to me. BF is still reliant on reaction shooting.

Tank Buster

I always thought it safe to say Arcade shooters are basically “Run n’ Gun”, less emphasis and/or generally lacking of
team based tactical movements and generally lacking team based objective play.

Katana67

We can agree to disagree if you like, as I’m sure we don’t want to drag this out any further. I do like the spirited discussion though.

But, again, I feel that “arcade” shooters is just a generality without meaning. Run and gun playstyles are still available and promoted in games like BF (see smaller maps, all-kit carbines, destructible buildings, spotting, etc.) Likewise, team-based objective modes are provided for in so-called “arcade” shooters like CoD. S+D was/is a very popular game mode.

This is sort of what I’m saying, any time I’ve ever seen someone try to quantify what an “arcade” shooter is, it’s never meaningful. It’s never a concrete, definitive answer that is applicable to a certain type of shooter (aside from an actual shooter in an arcade).

I think it’s hard, especially with BF, because it occupies a middle ground. It’s neither CoD nor ARMA, it’s its own entity and has its own balance. Which is why I’ve reverted to just considering how certain inclusions affect my day to day gameplay, rather than whether or not they endorse nebulous objectives like “tactical gameplay”, “arcade shooting”, or “realism”. Although I am a huge fan of so-called “realistic” shooters like the old GR and ARMA.

Tank Buster

I’m with you bro! I just really think Battlefield could be so much more if played differently by the masses. It should be a mindset, how you approach the game, how you play the game.

Tank Buster

I don’t agree with
your point that claymores/mines need to block out enemies but keep traffic
flowing for freindlies ( I think thats what your saying), thats part of the
double edge sword when using these weapon types; either use them sparingly and
cautiously our don’t use them at all.

See thats just it,
regarding the mines its really not that hard to set your mines just off center
of the road so friendlies can weave around but unsuspecting enemies will hit
them, it all just depends on good placement, but when drivers don’t pay much
attention period to these indicators…either friendly our not and just end up
hitting them lol. All the maps have their main thoroughfares and it takes just
a handfull of engineers to spam these area’s during the games and its blocked
off for everyone. I actually like that these are creating team kills in
hardcore servers and hopefully it deters novice players from constantly using
them.

VEX_VEHIX

This

VEX_VEHIX

Yes, which is why teamwork/communication plays a key role (ie: “Hey, I placed land mines by the flag”.

The issue isn’t DICE allowing teammates to die from friendly mines, it’s the kill hungry gamers who don’t use team chat correctly. Again, just saying.

“On Monday, January 13th (tomorrow) will be released an update server (R18) for Battlefield 4. We do not know on what platforms this update will be available, but at least for the PC platform can be sure.

Check out the list of changes in R18 server update:

Changes related to updating the game client

Include a table of results in real time for all game servers

Change the default value of tickets for the “Air Superiority” mode, 100-200

I just like it because it quantifies what people mean by “netcode” and makes a clear distinction between stability issues (i.e crashes) and issues which are inherent to the way DICE has designed the game, which need to be fixed (and get glossed over when people just nebulously refer to netcode or focus solely on stability issues).

Warlon

The RPG thing happens to me all the time, I thought it was because I was moving. I hope Dice addresses this issue.

M0nkky

I tought they were talking about improving the netcode, then I realised that I was still dreaming

DerpSlayer

Honest question – do you even understand what “netcode” is or is it just cool to keep parroting a buzzword you heard?

Hot-Wire

Maybe i can finally kill something in the stealth jet. Also i thought they were buffing dmrs

DerpSlayer

Who confirmed they were buffing DMR’s? No one. There was only informal discussion about it on twitter late last week, and this patch was already in the can since a few weeks.